Archive for August, 2006

‘The first fully-automated parking garage in the US occupies a small lot in Hoboken, New Jersey. Drivers follow computerized directions and pull onto a steel slab when they want to park. After they shut off their car and step out of the vehicle, elevator doors close and the car is whisked upward and slid into [...]

‘A robotic vehicle is to be sent deep into the Persian Gulf to excavate the area under the waters, searching for the parts of the Siraf Port drowned over time as the water advanced to the shoreline.
For the first time in Iran, an Iranian researcher invented a robot, capable of searching under the waters. It [...]

‘Robots had a heyday in Germany. While one group of robots completed a World Cup in Bremen, another was diligently patrolling Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, one of 12 World Cup venues.
Germany won the RoboCup 2006 championship. The RoboCup’s goal has been to develop a team of autonomous humanoid robots that can win against a human World [...]

‘A group of Chinese scientists completed their work last week on a new robot named Miss Rong Cheng. The robot’s designers say she is equipped with cutting-edge technology in human-to-robot interaction and responds to human voices.
The robot is designed to look like a woman and it is programmed to speak Mandarin as well as a [...]

‘The robot that parks cars at the Garden Street Garage in Hoboken, New Jersey, trapped hundreds of its wards last week for several days. But it wasn’t the technology car owners had to curse, it was the terms of a software license.
The garage is owned by the city; the software, by Robotic Parking of Clearwater, [...]

‘A Japanese quadriplegic on Monday partly realized his dream of ascending one of Switzerland’s highest mountains, thanks to a friend who carried him up with the help of a high-tech robot suit.
Seiji Uchida, who has been paralyzed from the neck down since a traffic accident more than two decades ago, failed to reach the summit [...]

‘MIT researchers are working toward the day when a team of robots could be put into action like a team of Navy SEALs - doing such dangerous work as searching for survivors after devastating hurricanes or sweeping harbors for mines.
The tool they’re using is the simple kayak.
The researchers are taking off-the-shelf, $500 plastic kayaks and [...]

‘The University of Tokyo and seven big-name companies are gearing up to push a radical new solution to the declining birthrate and aging population: robots.
The university envisages a 10-year project to research robotic and information technology to enhance people’s lifestyles in the future.
The group hopes to develop robots to help with housework and to transport [...]

‘A Japanese quadriplegic plans to try to ascend the peak of a Swiss mountain today by riding piggyback on a mountaineer who will get some extra muscle from a robot suit. Seiji Uchida, 43, who was left paralysed from the neck down after a traffic accident in 1983, will attempt the ascent of the Breithorn [...]

‘Adults who never grew out of their love for Gundam robots will soon see their dreams become as large as life as a toymaker rolls out human-size versions of the Japanese anime hero.
The 1.5-meter (five-foot) tall version of the Gundam — whose adventures in far-away worlds have been a longstanding hit on Japanese and US [...]

‘Fifty years ago, the United States became the first country to produce industrial robots. Today, these mechanical marvels have marched into many other areas of our lives.
The U.S. national soccer team may not have excelled at the recent World Cup championship in Germany, but another group of American soccer players has triumphed. Last month, the [...]